Women, feminism, and geek culture

Ready Player Linkspam (14th August, 2012)

Straw Feminists in the Closet: “God, what a nightmare! To wake up to Straw Feminists in the closet, one of the greatest bogeymen of all time!” Amazing drawings.

Philosophy gender war erupts after call for larger role for women: “‘I think many of the senior men in the field believe philosophy would be better if there was more gender equity, and I think [a boycott] gives them an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is,’ she said, adding that she applauds Mr. Collodel and his co-organizer, Eric Oberheim, for adding women to their program, albeit at the last-minute. ‘People worry about tokenism, but as far as I’m concerned the important thing now is to improve the profile of women in philosophy.'”

The Better Name for Girlfriend Mode Is Probably Co-Star Mode: “The word ‘co-star’ elevates the status of the second, presumably less-skilled player. It clearly labels them as something other than the best player. They are not the ‘star’, but they are the guest, the visiting celebrity, the fellow great. They’re the celebrity walk-on in a sitcom or the other actor who isn’t being interviewed at the moment. They may be a mere supporting actor, but ‘co-star’ makes them sound so much important. It’s better than ‘girlfriend mode’ or any other construction that would label the second player as inferior to the first (see: ‘casual mode,’ ‘person-who-sucks-at-games mode’).”

[Trigger Warning: Harassment]What It’s Like For a Girl Gamer: “This story of harassment is, inside the industry, considered old hat—no one wants to hear your tale of woe. When I talk about this kind of thing at industry or academic panels, there are people eager to wave off 90 percent of what I just wrote because they are, allegedly, already busy looking for the solution. Then there are the others who dismiss me because I’m not addressing feminist concerns in the ‘real world.’ But this is my real world, and I would argue that for most of us, gamers or just Facebook users, these online social interactions are very real, with very serious consequences.”

[Trigger Warning: Harassment]Without My Consent: Paths to justice for survivors of online harassment: “This website is intended to empower individuals harmed by online privacy violations to stand up for their rights. The site will focus on the specific problem of the publication of private images online. We are currently in the beta phase of launching the site, which means that content is being added and edited regularly. Our long-term hope is that the site will also inspire meaningful debate about the internet, accountability, free speech, and the serious problem of online invasions of privacy.”

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Spec Fiction fans: screenwriting blog Go Into The Story is asking for recommendations for the top fantasy books to read in order to write great original fantasy screenplays. It would be great to see more books writing by women, feminists, and people of colour. Please make your recommendations at 10 Fantasy Books you must read. (Note: the call is *just* for fantasy, not for sci fi or other speculative fiction.)